Legislation approved by the 2010 General Assembly allows school divisions to offer online instruction to students in multiple school divisions by entering into contracts with private companies, educational institutions or nonprofit virtual-school organizations that have been approved by the superintendent of public instruction as meeting the Board of Education’s criteria for virtual-school programs.

Approved providers – accredited by a board-recognized national or regional agency – offer instruction aligned with the commonwealth’s Standards of Learning (SOL) and delivered by fully licensed teachers.

Virginia’s 19 approved multidivision online providers include full-time virtual schools, programs offering supplemental instruction to students and blended-instruction programs in which students have a trained, on-site mentor in addition to an online teacher.

"By contracting with virtual schools or online providers Virginia’s school divisions can broaden the array of courses they offer, reach out to more non-traditional students and provide more educational options for families," Wright said.

Information about each of the approved providers – including programs and SOL-aligned courses offered – is available on the Virginia Department of Education website.

A virtual school or online program enrolling fewer than 10 percent of its students from outside the sponsoring school division or consortia of divisions is not required to secure state approval as a multidivision online provider.